June 18, 1998

SURPRISE ATTACK

I thought I would be safe from harm riding with a group but I wasn't. My new friend, Ray, had invited me to stay an extra day and go out on one of his club's weekly rides in nearby New London, CT. The ride was going to be sixteen miles long and there was to be a meal at a restaurant down the road.

Ray was going to ride one of his tandems with a black lady who was almost legally blind. She didn't let her blindness slow her down because she is into cross country skiing and roller blading. I was very surprised at hearing this.

The group ride wasn't really fun for me. The lead group pack pushed the ride speed up to seventeen miles per hour. I felt that the bike ride was either a race or a test on me. After about three miles, I had to stop and check out a loud crackling sound coming from the bike. It turns out that my seat post was loose.

For most of the ride, I was in the last group of riders. Around dusk and about four miles from the finish I was getting concerned. I was starting to feel uncomfortable being out after dark because of what happened last year. I caught site of the middle group so I decided to speed up to see if I could catch up to them.

About a quarter mile from catching up to the group, I got attacked. This guy in a green car decided that I needed to have something thrown at me. I don't know what he had thrown out of the car while it was speeding along but I got hit on the left rear side of my neck.

It didn't knock me over or really hurt me. The attack just ruined my psyche for the rest of the ride and the night. I don't know why I was attacked. I didn't wear my missionary cycling vest or my cross out in the open.